Maria del
Carmen, the leader of the Mayan artisan collective understand hearing the call as
“the complete giving of oneself to Jesus’ will for the Lekil Kuxlejal (the Mayan Tseltal phrase which means: wholesome, abundant life). For the Mayan
people, this phrase signifies a deep respect for the parents and the elderly, recognition
to those who work (for working is good), to those who have a large family AND
take good care of them, and to those who are wise.

Well (you
might say), what does this have to do with listening? A lot!

Many people
lament the lost art of communication. Chana Weisberg wrote that maybe “our
dismal state of communication stems from our lost art of listening,
without which real communication can never occur… Real listening means
the ability to focus entirely on others and on their issues, with an open mind
and heart.” Even when we might not agree with others, to hear means to hear
from their particular and personal point of view as well as to understand how they
see life. Only then we can appreciate where this other human being comes from.
We can also understand how we can enter in a relationship where we could be of help
to them while also becoming enriched by the experience.

In the Hebrew bible the
word shama‘ to hear, means to hear intelligently often with
implication of attention and obedience. Listening is an intense experience
which involves perceiving, deep thinking and internalization. Truly listening
to others can become a transformative act, “one that forges a strong bond
between the speaker and listener.” That
is why Samuel forges a strong bond with God; he truly listened to the call, obeyed
and acted upon it.

Getting back
to the Mayan culture, as with many others patriarchal cultures, women, children
and youth are excluded from the lekil
kuxlejal, for they are still demeaned and often mistreated. Yet, this group
of Mayan women heard the call and engaged in a transforming process to learn
who they were in Jesus and reach the abundant life Jesus had for them. Because they
heard the call, they understood the implications of becoming daughters of God
and what it meant to live up to that call. It meant to learn about their rights
and to read and write. It meant to better their nutrition with home gardens and
rescue their culture. It meant to believe in them and forge truthful relationships.
So, you see in this video, how they
commit themselves to build their workshop as a symbol of their own growing as
women in the image of God.

I cried when
Ricardo sent me this video (I was recovering my health in PR) because I saw not
only my sisters and friends struggling to reach the lekil kuxlejal of Jesus in their lives, but also the many hands
that opened up with donations and prayers for them. I cried because when you
heard the call, like the architects Edwin Quiles and Elio Martinez you accompanied
us to bring down to earth the kingdom of God, and all the difficulties, the
conflicts, the illnesses we faced in sharing the Gospel were forgotten.

While matching
funds are still available for you to support the work of any of the
missionaries you identify with, the most important part in all of this is that
you hear God’s voice and the voices of your sisters and brothers to become one
in Christ. Hear the call! Miracles still happens because of your love!